Big City Dreams
by my crooked heart
Summary: Before she was Marked, Stevie Rae was just an ordinary girl from Henrietta. She had a best friend, a boy who would do anything for her, and a family with big dreams for her. But her Mark changed everything. Full summary inside, please R&R!
1. An Unexpected Birthday Surprise

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

Ok, so I love the House of Night series, and Stevie Rae has always been one of my favourite characters. Seeing as the books are written from Zoey's perspective (mostly) we don't really get much information about the other characters' pasts, so I thought I'd write this. It's going to be a multi-chaptered fic starting with Stevie Rae getting Marked, and probably ending with the end of the first book. Apologies for any inconsistencies with the plots of the actual House of Night books. Hope you enjoy this, please **review :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: An Unexpected Birthday Surprise<strong>

My mama always told me that a good girl doesn't play games, but when it came to me and Shane Goode, it was hard not to. There was something about him that made me act all coy and coquettish. Maybe it was his big brown eyes or his curly blond hair, but something about the kid turned me into a mess. One second we'd be flirting up a storm, the next I'd be snubbing my nose at him and pretending I didn't know he existed.

One thing I was sure of, I did _not_ like the way he made me act. I was a nice girl – mostly, anyway – and I didn't like playing hard to get. So when I got up on the morning of my sixteenth birthday, I decided that today was the day. I was finally going to stop all of the games and tell Shane exactly what I thought of him.

With that in mind, I took extra care picking out an outfit for school. Mama had laid out a nice pair of Roper jeans and my favourite blue check shirt. I dragged a brush through my unruly curls, slipped on my favourite cowboy boots and then bounded down the stairs for breakfast, a grin tugging at my lips at the familiar sounds of the Johnson morning routine.

My two oldest brothers were already in the kitchen along with Mama and Daddy, arguing about who should have the first piece of bacon. My other brother was still in the shower – I had heard him yodelling away when I left my room.

"Morning, y'all!" I chirped happily, sliding into the seat beside Daddy. My brothers grunted at me and Daddy mumbled a gruff happy birthday. Mama smiled at me and waved her spatula, approaching the table with a plate loaded with bacon, eggs and a stack of toast that was dripping with butter.

"Happy birthday, baby!" she said, kissing me on the cheek and setting the plate in front of me. "You look just gorgeous, Stevie Rae. Sweet sixteen!"

While Mark and Owen whined about their stomachs, Mama disappeared into the living room. When she returned she was carrying a small wrapped box. She handed it to me with a smile.

"From Daddy and me. Open it before your breakfast gets cold!"

I grinned and tore through the packaging, revealing a black velvet box. Holding my breath, I lifted the lid and then gasped at what I found inside. Nestled on a white cushion were two pairs of silver hoop earrings. They looked expensive. I removed my usual gold studs from my ears and replaced them with the hoops. Mama clapped her hands.

"Beautiful, honey. Just beautiful."

She returned to the stove to continue cooking just as JJ sidled into the room, a damp towel lying around his shoulders. Amazingly, he ignored the scent of bacon to give me a hug, draping his skinny arms around my neck.

"Happy birthday, Rae Rae," he mumbled. "Your present's upstairs. You can have it after school."

I smiled. Mama and Daddy always told us that you don't play favourites with family, but if I was being honest, JJ was my favourite brother. He was only a year older than me too, so we were pretty close. He took the seat beside me and we all tucked into our breakfast. By the time JJ had polished off his last slice of toast, we were running late. I barely had time to kiss Mama and Daddy on the cheek before JJ dragged me out to his beat-up old pickup truck.

We rode to school, squabbling as usual about what music to listen to during the drive. I wanted Kenny Chesney, but JJ said there was no way he was letting that "garbage" into his car. If it had been anyone other than JJ I would've clocked him one, but I was used to it. This was our morning ritual.

We arrived at school just on time to hear the bell ring. JJ raced down the hall to his homeroom, shouting a happy birthday over his shoulder. I headed to my own homeroom at a slower pace, rolling my eyes at the familiar Henrietta Fighting Hens banner draped above the doorway. Our school mascot was a _serious_ thorn in my side.

I spotted Shane as soon as I went in. He was sitting in his usual seat at the back of the room, talking to my best friend, Lindy Adams. He looked adorable as usual, wearing light jeans and a white t-shirt. I smiled at him and offered him a wave, but before I could make my way over to him, Ms. Applewhite called me to her desk. I ended up staying behind after homeroom to listen to a lecture on the importance of being on time, which just wasn't fair. JJ was normally very serious about getting us to school on time – we'd just been distracted cos of my birthday.

Ms. Applewhite's lecture meant that I'd missed my chance to talk to Shane. We didn't have any classes together, so I wouldn't see him again until lunch, maybe not even then. It put a crimper on my plans, and I'd wanted to put them into action as soon as possible, before I could chicken out.

I trudged through the school day like I always did, although I was barely listening when my friends talked to me, and even Lindy had trouble grabbing my attention. It wasn't just my missed opportunity to talk to Shane. I felt sick, sluggish, like I was coming down with something. My throat was all scratchy and I couldn't stop coughing – it felt like I was hacking up a lung. I eventually snapped out of my funk when the dismissal bell rang and I saw my chance to talk to Shane. He was standing by his locker, peering at his schedule with a frown. I pushed my way through the crowds until I reached his locker and then smiled at him, brushing a curl out of my eyes.

"Hey, Stevie Rae," he said, his eyes lighting up. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you all day! Happy birthday!" My smile grew wider. He remembered!

I shouldn't have been surprised. I knew that Shane liked me – heck, all of Henrietta knew that we liked each other – but it still made me happy that he'd remembered my birthday. I was even happier when he reached into his locker and pulled out a small package, hastily wrapped in pink tissue paper. He handed it to me, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"For me?" I said teasingly, weighing the package in my hand. "Why Mr. Goode, you shouldn't have." I unwrapped it delicately and caught my breath. Inside was a silver charm bracelet with five charms dangling from the links – a cowboy boot, a musical note, a chicken, a tiny _16_, a key and padlock with a heart attached. Before I could say thank you, Shane launched into an explanation of the charms.

"This one," he said quickly, touching the cowboy boot, "is because of your boots. And this one here is because you love Kenny Chesney. The chicken is for the Henrietta Fighting Hens – I know you hate them, but you're still one of them. The _16_ is self-explanatory. And – and this one here is..." He trailed off, blushing even harder.

"What is it?" I pressed, smiling.

"The key to my heart," he said in a rush, his cheeks turning scarlet. "I just – I _really_ like you, Stevie Rae, and I want you to know that you've got the key to my heart. Always."

I blinked at him. He shut his locker with a soft click and then took the bracelet with shaking hands. He fastened it to my wrist and then smiled, meeting my eyes hesitantly. I grinned right back at him.

"Well, I really like you too, Shane Goode," I said brightly. "And I promise I'll take good care of that key."

I reached over and slid my hand into his and we walked out of school like that, both of us grinning like idiots. JJ was waiting for me in the pickup. Shane squeezed my hand and then left to go to his own car. I practically bounced over to my brother's truck. The sound of the tinkling charm bracelet on my wrist was like music to my ears. JJ narrowed his eyes at me as I climbed into the passenger seat.

"What's all that about, Rae Rae?" he said, a glint of brotherly concern in his eyes. I simply smiled at him, swallowed down yet another hacking cough and then waved at Shane, roaring out of the parking lot ahead of us. JJ shook his head and started the ignition.

We made it home in record time. I was almost drooling at the thought of the big birthday meal Mama would have waiting for us. Mark and Owen would act like real human beings for the night, and Daddy would spoil me rotten like he always did on my birthday. And then when it got dark out we'd all settle down in the family room to watch one of my favourite Disney movies, The Little Mermaid. It would be perfect. My birthday was always the best day of the year.

Except this year, apparently, was gonna be different. Because when I climbed out of JJ's truck, I saw the guy standing on the doorstep.

Well, dang it. Someone was about to get Marked.

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><p>Da-daaaaa! Hope you enjoyed that. For anyone who's interested, there's a quick summary of each of my OCs below (just so you don't get confused throughout the story). Also, the brothers aren't technically OCs, but since they aren't named in the books, I've named them and tried to flesh them out a little.<p>

**Shane Goode:** Stevie Rae's love interest, a real Okie boy, and ridiculously cheesy (although you probably guessed that after the whole charm bracelet thing). Stevie Rae and Shane have been pretty much meant to be since they were kids, so her getting Marked is a real bummer for him. He's sixteen, same age as Stevie Rae. He'll pop up quite a lot in this story.

**Jacob Jeremiah Johnson "JJ": **the youngest of Stevie Rae's three brothers. He's only a year older than Stevie Rae and they've always been quite close. He can be very protective of her when he wants to be.

**Mark Johnson:** the second oldest of Stevie Rae's brothers. He's twenty years old and is very loyal to his town. He was on the Henrietta football team in high school.

**Owen Johnson:** the oldest of Stevie Rae's brothers. He and Mark are practically inseparable, though they argue a lot. He's twenty three.

**Lindy Adams:** Stevie Rae's best friend. Lindy is a good Catholic girl and is horrified when Stevie Rae is Marked. She cuts off all contact with Stevie Rae as soon as she finds out. She has a huge crush on JJ.

Er, if you're still reading this, thank you! Please please **please** review. Please? :3


	2. Change

__Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast.__

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Change<strong>

I stared at the guy on the doorstep, half thinking that he was a hallucination. But no, he was as solid as me or JJ. He met my eyes and then started toward me, the sapphire tattoos on his face glinting in the late afternoon sunlight.

"Stevie Rae Johnson," he intoned, his voice deeper and more powerful than anything I had ever heard before. "Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"

He lifted his finger and pointed it at my forehead. I stepped backwards in alarm, stumbling over my own feet. A moment later, I heard myself scream as a burst of pain exploded from my forehead. It spread, rushing across my temples and down my cheekbones. My entire face throbbed with a dull ache. I dropped to my knees, yelping. It was so painful that I almost blacked out, but I managed not to. When the pain finally subsided, I noticed that the Tracker was gone. JJ, on the other hand, was kneeling beside me, his eyes wide with fear and shock.

"Stevie Rae," he whispered, "are you alright?"

_Dang,_ I thought, _there's a stupid question._ I had just been Marked by an honest-to-God vampyre Tracker and JJ was asking me if I was alright?

Actually, I wasn't sure if I was alright. My head sure didn't hurt anymore, but I could feel another dang cough working its way up my throat. I knew without looking that there would be a sapphire crescent moon on my forehead. I also knew that the second I walked through the front door, there'd be hell to pay, and I didn't wanna deal with that just yet. So I looked up at JJ, offered him my sweetest smile, and asked him to drive me to Lindy's.

He was hesitant at first – after all, we both knew what had just happened. We knew that I needed to get to the nearest House of Night as quickly as possible. But over the years I had gotten pretty good at convincing my brothers to do stuff they didn't wanna do, and ten minutes later, we were parked outside Lindy's house.

JJ made me promise to wait in the car while he called for Lindy. The sun was still shining and he said he'd read somewhere that even vampyre fledglings should stay out of the sun. I wasn't in the mood to argue, so I agreed. I checked out my new Mark in the rear view mirror. It glittered against my skin, almost like it was freshly painted. Sighing, I peered out the window, watching JJ stroll up the path and knock on the door. Lindy answered almost immediately, twirling a strand of red hair around her fingers. I rolled my eyes, holding back another cough. Lindy had always had a huge crush on JJ.

He said something and she laughed, opening her mouth wide to show off her pearly white teeth to their best advantage. He took her hand and led her down the path – something which probably pleased Lindy to no end – and then motioned for me to get out of the truck. I did, wincing a little as the bright sunlight hit my skin. JJ hadn't been kidding. I'd always loved the sun, but even the September sunlight felt like a sting now. I raised my hand to cover my eyes and circled the truck, coming to a stop in front of JJ and Lindy. My best friend smiled at me.

"So what's the big emergency, Stevie Rae – _oh my God_!" she shrieked, spotting the tattoo on my forehead. She stumbled backwards, almost knocking JJ into her mother's rose bushes. "What – what is that _thing_ on your head?"

"It's a Mark, Lindy," JJ said flatly, helping her into an upright position.

"Could you wait in the truck, JJ?" I asked pleadingly. "I need to talk to Lindy."

He nodded, giving me a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before climbing into the car and turning the stereo on. With my brother occupied, I focused my attention on Lindy. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her entire face had gone white, so white that I could see all of her freckles standing out like little drops of paint.

"You've been _Marked_," she whispered, spitting out the word like it was a cuss. "By a _vampyre._"

"Yeah," I said patiently. I knew better than to rush her. Lindy was a sweet girl, but she'd always been a little slow. It was better for me to let her work through her shock than to dump everything on her at once.

She stared at me for a little while longer, until I was sure JJ was getting irked and my skin was starting to fry. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Lindy," I said, "this means that I'm gonna have to go to the House of Night. You get that, right?"

She nodded mutely.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you before I left," I continued, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "Cos we might not get another chance to say goodbye."

When she didn't reply, I sighed and stepped forward, holding my arms out for a hug. To my surprise, she didn't immediately step into my arms. Instead, she stumbled backwards yet again, holding out her own arm to prevent me from coming any closer. My jaw dropped as she made the sign of the cross and stepped even further away from me.

"Lindy–"

"Don't come near me," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I mean it. Stay away from me." And with that, she turned on her heels and rushed into the house, leaving me standing there with an open mouth.

I trudged back to the truck, ignoring the disapproving look in JJ's eyes. He'd never liked Lindy. I didn't know if it was her ridiculous crush on him or her family's stubborn religious ways, but he had never seen what I liked about her.

Now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure I did, either.

It was finally starting to get dark when we arrived back at the house. JJ's hand snaked across the car seats to clasp mine and he looked at me in the dim light.

"Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath. "It's now or never."

We walked into the house, still holding hands, to find Daddy sitting in the living room watching a football game. He was so engrossed in it that he didn't even notice us come in. I could hear Mama in the kitchen, washing dishes from a birthday meal that no-one had eaten. Mark and Owen were probably upstairs, playing on Owen's X-box. A cough emerged from my throat and Daddy looked away from the TV, his eyes finding me easily.

"Stevie Rae?" he said cautiously, getting to his feet. "Baby girl, are you alright? Are you sick?"

That was when he noticed the sapphire crescent on my forehead. His entire face darkened and his body stiffened. I shrank back a little, afraid of his reaction. JJ squeezed my hand comfortingly. Daddy shouted Mama's name and she came into the living room, drying her hands on a dish towel. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted me and JJ standing there.

"Stevie Rae Annabeth," she said chidingly, "and Jacob Jeremiah, where on earth have you two been? If you thought you were going to be late then you should have called to let us – oh, my." She spotted my Mark and her eyes widened.

"Sorry, Mama," I said weakly.

"Is that what I think it is?" Daddy said through gritted teeth, his face growing red. Mama nodded faintly, paling.

"Stevie Rae, baby girl," she said, putting her hands on my shoulders and steering me towards the couch, "I'm gonna need you to tell me exactly what happened to you, alright? Can you do that for me, sweet girl?"

I nodded and launched into the story, punctuated with coughs and the occasional sniffle. They were getting more and more frequent. I was beginning to suspect that it wasn't a cold I was coming down with, it was symptoms of my Mark. To Mama's credit, she didn't try to feed me chicken soup or force orange juice down my throat – at least, not until I'd finished my story. When I had, she disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a steaming bowl of soup. I slurped on it gratefully while Mama and Daddy discussed what had happened. Meanwhile, JJ sat beside me, patting me on the back whenever a cough overtook my body.

"This can't be happening," Daddy was saying, shaking his head. "Not to my baby girl, Anna. No way, no how, this ain't happening, goddammit!"

"Calm down, Reggie," Mama soothed him, patting his arm comfortingly. "Now you and I both know that this _is_ happening, and there ain't nothing we can do to stop it. Stevie Rae's been Marked and we're just gonna have to learn to adjust to that. Now I know that you love our baby, so you can do that for her, can't you?"

There was a long pause and then Daddy nodded, though he still looked uncertain.

"Good," Mama said, satisfied. She turned to me and took the empty bowl out of my hands, handing it to JJ with an order to wash it real good. "Stevie Rae, you know that you've gotta go to that vampyre school, don't you?"

I nodded, wiping my lips with the back of my hand.

"Good girl," she said, smiling at me. "You get upstairs and pack up your things, alright? And when you're ready give them to your brothers and they'll load up the car. Don't you worry about bedclothes or anything like that – Mama'll take care of it. We'll get you there by tomorrow morning, sweetpea."

She disappeared into the kitchen and I bounded up the stairs, my stomach fluttering a little. I had known from the moment the Tracker marked me that I would have to go to the House of Night, but I hadn't expected it to be so _soon_. It was stupid – I knew that fledgling vampyres needed to be surrounded by adult ones. If they weren't, their bodies would reject the Change and they would die. I wasn't too sure about going to the vampyre school, but I knew dang sure that I didn't wanna die, so the faster I got there, the better.

I paused on the threshold of my room, staring around at the familiar pink walls, the daisy patterned bedspread, the fluffy white rug that I begged for until Daddy finally gave in. Tears welled up in my eyes but I brushed them away quickly. There was no time for me to cry. I lugged my old pink suitcase out of the closet and got to work packing up my favourite things – my Kenny Chesney posters, my radio, my books. Once everything was safely packed away, I wheeled the case into Owen's room. He and Mark were sitting on the bed, looking sombre. I guessed that Daddy had told them about me.

"Hey, y'all," I said, offering them a bright smile. They looked up and smiled back in unison, seeming relieved at my cheerfulness. Owen immediately leapt off the bed and took the suitcase, promising to be right back. I leaned against the doorway once he'd left, staring at Mark until he finally spoke up.

"So, you're going to be a vampyre," he said awkwardly.

"Yup!" I chirped back, determined to get another smile out of him before I left.

There was a silence and then he grinned widely, meeting my eyes. "Think you can introduce me to some hot vampyre chicks?"

We both laughed and then Mark crossed the room, enveloping me in a warm bear hug. I clung to him, inhaling the familiar scent of aftershave and cigarettes that I attributed to Mark. I'd always hated him smoking, but he never listened to my lectures. When he pulled away I was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

Owen returned a moment later and gave me a hug of his own, along with a twenty dollar bill to help me "adjust". I wasn't sure how twenty bucks was gonna help me adjust to a whole new life, but I wasn't about to turn it down.

We went downstairs together, where Mama, Daddy and JJ were waiting for us. The car was all packed up and it was time for us to go, but there wasn't enough room for all of us in the family car. Owen and Mark elected to stay behind, though they made me promise to call them once I arrived in Tulsa. I hugged them both again and then went out to the car, holding JJ's hand the entire time.

I slept during the car ride. I wasn't sure if it was the stress of being Marked, the anxiety over switching schools or the hurt I felt over Lindy's reaction to my Mark, but I felt exhausted. When I woke, Daddy was parking the car. JJ squeezed my hand.

"Ready for this?" he murmured. I flashed back to earlier on, before we had gone into the house, and offered him a smile.

"It's now or never."

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><p>Dun-dun-dun, Stevie Rae has arrived at the House of Night. Anyway, this chapter. Lindy's reaction will be explained later on, don't worry, and I haven't forgotten about Shane. As for Mark and Owen, their appearances will be few and far between from now on, but I promise that JJ will stay in the story :D Oh, and like I did with Stevie Rae's brothers, I tried to flesh out her parents' characters, so here they are:<p>

**Annabeth Johnson "Anna":** Stevie Rae's mama, mother extraordinaire. In my headcanon, Anna and Reggie were high school sweethearts. Stevie Rae's middle name is Annabeth (at least for the purposes of this story) after her amazing mama.

**Reginald Johnson "Reggie":** Stevie Rae's daddy and Anna's husband. He absolutely dotes on Stevie Rae and she's his baby girl, so he was pretty upset when she got Marked.

Also, can I just say that I love it when Anna acts all Mama Bear-ish? I dunno, I just find it adorable. Er, anyway, rambling over. See that little review button down there? It'll only take you a second. Please? Pretty please? :)


	3. Damn Rough Night

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Damn Rough Night<strong>

"Dang," I breathed, staring at my new school with wide eyes. "This is a _school_?"

It was beautiful, so beautiful that I didn't really know how to describe it. Everything was made of dark brick and stone, and sconces cast gleaming yellow lights over the walls. In the time it had taken us to drive from Henrietta to Tulsa, real night had fallen. Now, the sky was a dusky pink colour. I guessed that morning was approaching fast. Students milled around the campus, wearing exotic, expensive looking uniforms. Almost all of them had lustrous long hair – I touched my short blonde curls self-consciously. I hated my hair when it was long. Long hair wasn't a part of the uniform here, was it?

My parents flanked me on either side. JJ stood in behind me, craning his neck to get a good look at all of the vampyre girls. We simply stood there for a long time, looking around breathlessly, until a curvy woman with long reddish-blonde hair approached us with a wide smile. I saw that her eyes were big and hazel-coloured, surrounded by the sapphire tattoo that Marked her as a vampyre. I caught my breath at her tattoo. Thin Celtic knots descended down her face and along her cheekbones, highlighting them. She extended her hand to my mama, who took it after a moment's hesitation.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson," she said politely. "My name is Professor Penthesilia. I am the professor of Literature here at the Tulsa House of Night. I am pleased to welcome you to our fine school."

"Well, thank you," Mama replied, looking relieved that Professor Penthesilia wasn't calling her out for being a human. "Our daughter was Marked–"

"Earlier this evening," Professor Penthesilia interrupted smoothly. "Yes, I know. The Tracker informed me of her pending arrival. I have been selected as your daughter's mentor. I will help her adjust to her new life here and I will be available to help her for as long as she is a student at the House of Night." With that, she met my eyes. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Stevie Rae Johnson."

I squeaked, surprised that this vampyre knew my name. "It – it's a pleasure to meet you too, Professor Penthesilia, ma'am."

She chuckled. "Please, call me Professor P. Now, if you'll follow me, we'll get you settled into your room." I glanced at my parents and JJ. Professor P nodded shrewdly. "It would be best for you to say your goodbyes here, Stevie Rae. Humans attract a certain amount of attention on our campus, you understand."

She stood back to give me a little privacy with my family. I turned, my heart thudding wildly. This was it. They were really going to leave me here. Daddy's eyes were filled with tears and so were Mama's, but JJ was doing a good job of putting on a brave face. Daddy was the first to say goodbye. He wrapped me in a warm hug and whispered something in my ear about how I would always be his baby girl, whether I was a Fighting Hen or a vampyre. It made me giggle, so I was smiling when Mama threw her arms around my neck and drew me close.

"You be good now, y'hear?" she said, burying her face in my neck. "You're representing the entire Johnson family at this school, Stevie Rae. So you just better do us proud." She stood back, her face shining with tears. "Thank God you got outta Henrietta, sweetpea. You always were better than our Podunk little town."

I smiled at her, tears threatening to spill over my eyelids, and then JJ stepped up. He looked a little awkward now that it was time to say goodbye. I made the first move, wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him tight.

"I'll miss you, JJ," I whispered. He drew back, coughing, and then shoved his hands in his pockets. His face suddenly lit up.

"I almost forgot," he said, pulling a wrapped gift out of his pocket. "Happy birthday, Rae Rae."

He handed the gift to me. I glanced towards Professor P, silently asking if I had enough time to open it, and she smiled at me. I tore into the wrapping paper, revealing a Kenny Chesney CD and a locket that read _Best Friends._ It was one of those ones that was meant to be broken in half and split between two people.

"I thought you could give it to Lindy," JJ said by way of explanation, "but maybe you'll find someone new to give it to here."

I grinned at him and then snapped the locket, dropping the _Best_ half in his palm. A slow smile spread across his face and he tied it around his neck, pouting and popping his hip like a runway model. I laughed and Professor P stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"It's time, Stevie Rae."

"Bye, Mama," I said. "Bye, Daddy, JJ! I'll call you lots, I promise." I allowed Professor P to lead me into the school, trying to ignore the sudden rush of homesickness that had overcome me. I could hear Mama and JJ shouting goodbyes, and I could imagine Daddy leading them back to the car. All of a sudden I wished that I was going back with them. I didn't want to be at this vampyre school. I wanted to be back home, in Henrietta.

Professor P explained the school system to me. I was fascinated by the idea of going to school at 8PM, although I was sure I would get used to it in time. She also told me about the different uniforms and how we were allowed to style them to fit our own personal style. That was something I was looking forward to. Images flashed through my mind of me, wearing one of the pretty black blouses I had seen the students wearing on my way in, tucked into a pair of Roper jeans and worn with my shiny black cowboy boots. I was never a fan of uniforms, but the House of Night uniforms seemed like something I could sink my teeth into.

No pun intended.

I listened carefully as Professor P led me through everything I would need to know, until finally she took me to the dorms. I didn't have a roommate yet – unfortunately. According to Professor P, the girl who had originally been intended as my roommate had rejected the Change and died a few days before I was Marked. I wasn't too sure how I felt about that, but I did know that I loved my new room.

Somehow, the vamps had already gotten my things up to my room, so I was greeted by the familiar sight of my Kenney Chesney poster, my cowboy boot gas lamp, my radio, my daisy patterned bedspread. I took off my cowboy hat and set it on one of the bedside tables, looking around at the room that I would call home for the next four years.

Professor P smiled at me from the doorway. "Do you have any questions, Stevie Rae?" she asked, her voice delicate and lovely.

"No, ma'am," I replied, sitting on the edge of my new bed. "I think you've covered pretty much everything I need to know."

"Excellent," she said. "Although there is one more thing. When a student arrives at the House of Night, he or she is free to cast off their old life and start anew. If you so choose, you may pick a new name for yourself."

I blinked. A new name? Dang, if I'd known that I would've brought Owen along. He was always complaining about his "farm boy" name.

"Er, I don't think so, Professor P," I said bemusedly. "I've been a Stevie Rae all my life and I don't think that's about to change."

She smiled. "Very well. I'll leave you to get settled in, Stevie Rae."

I was left alone in my new room, with only my thoughts to keep me company. Professor P had told me that dinner was at 6AM, but I had missed it. It was now 8AM, and quite frankly, I was exhausted. Despite my long nap in the car, I felt like sleep was a good idea. I undressed and climbed into my favourite paisley pyjamas. As I was clambering into bed, however, I noticed the jingling charm bracelet on my wrist, and I thought of Shane.

He didn't know that I had been Marked. Horrified, I scrambled for my phone, punching in Shane's number urgently. We weren't exactly dating, but he had given me that bracelet – and the metaphorical key to his heart. He deserved to know that I had left Henrietta.

He picked up after a couple of rings, sounding groggy. I frowned. He should have been on his way to school. Shrugging, I soldiered on.

"Hi, Shane," I said, laying back on my pillows. "It's Stevie Rae Johnson."

"Hey, Stevie Rae!" he replied, brightening up considerably. "You calling to check up on me? I've got the flu, so I'm not coming to school today. You're gonna have to cheer the Fighting Hens on without me, m'afraid."

I blinked. The Fighting Hens were playing a football game today, I remembered. It had been the talk of the town for weeks. For once I actually felt sad that I was going to miss one of their games.

"Actually, Shane, I need to tell you something," I said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not coming to school today either. Or ever, actually. See... I've been Marked."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Shane?"

"Sorry, Stevie Rae," he said, coughing, "but I don't think I heard you right. Did you just say you've been–"

"Marked, yes."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well–"

"I'm sorry."

"What?" He sounded taken aback. "Why are you sorry? It's not like you chose this, Stevie Rae. It happened to you. You have nothing to apologize for."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "You don't hate me?"

"How could I ever hate _you_?" he answered, amused. "I gave you the key to my heart, darlin'. Kinda hard to hate someone with that kinda power."

"Lindy hates me," I told him, sighing. "When she saw my Mark, she freaked out and started making the sign of the freakin' cross. Then she told me to stay away from her and ran into her house like I was some kinda monster. I'm not a monster, right, Shane?"

"Definitely not," he said firmly. "And I don't want you to ever think like that again."

I smiled. Talking to Shane was comforting, to say the least. It felt like I'd taken a little piece of Henrietta with me to Tulsa. For the next hour, we talked about everything. He told me about how his mama was trying to drown him in chicken soup and I told him about my new mentor, Professor P. He talked about how much school would suck without me and I talked about the amazing House of Night campus. He asked me what the vamps were like and what it felt like to be Marked. I told him that they were all beautiful but intimidating, and that getting Marked was like cattle branding. When we finally said goodbye, I was feeling a lot more homesick than I had expected.

I curled up under my comforter, thinking about home. I thought about my birthday traditions and how we had never gotten around to them, and then it occurred to me that I would probably never get to do those birthday traditions ever again. The thought brought tears to my eyes, and once that had happened, it was like a floodgate had been opened. I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up at 5PM, my face was still stained with tears. I wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed and hide under the covers, but I couldn't.

Because today was my first day as a student at the House of Night.

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><p>Can I just say that I <strong>totally <strong>think Stevie Rae would've been like this with her family? She just seems like the baby of the family. I think her brothers would dote on her and her daddy would be all URRRR, I AM DADDY, HEAR ME ROAR. Um, sorry, it's 6.30AM and I've been writing all night. Apologies for the weirdness ^_^ Please review, I'll love you forever!


	4. Off the Deep End

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Off the Deep End<strong>

I'd been at the House of Night for less than twenty four hours, and I was already beginning to tell that the vamps had a creepy sixth sense. I opened my closet after sleeping to find a row of different uniform ensembles, all suspiciously in my size. Deciding that I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, I selected one of the yummy black blouses and a pair of my usual Roper jeans. I decided to forego my cowboy boots in favour of a pair of black flats for today at least. I didn't want to alienate the other fledglings with my country chic style.

I tried to tame my curly hair as best I could, but it was difficult. It seemed a lot longer than it had before I went to sleep, which was ridiculous. Hair didn't grow _overnight_.

Professor P had taped my schedule to the door the night before – day before? – and I hadn't had a chance to look at it yet. I tugged it off the wood and folded it neatly, tucking it into my pocket before heading out of my room. Professor P had told me that the students ate breakfast in the dorms, so I made my way into the kitchen. It was a weirdly pretty room with a heck of a lot of refrigerators. I hesitated in front of one of them, unsure of whether or not to open them. What if they were filled with _blood?_

Before I could try opening one of them, a pretty girl with crazy long blonde hair pushed past me and flung one of them open, revealing a ton of bottles and cartons. I was relieved to see that it was ordinary drinks like juice and soda. No blood in sight. I grabbed a bottle of orange juice and found a box of Lucky Charms on the countertop. Lucky Charms – breakfast of champions. I took my breakfast into the living room, which was crowded with girls eating cereal and talking amongst themselves. My stomach knotted up at the sight of the groups. I had never been the new girl. Especially a new girl with no roommate. How was a new girl supposed to act?

_Dang it, Stevie Rae_, I thought. _Just sit your butt down and eat your Lucky Charms._

I took a seat on one of the puffy pillows scattered around the room and rummaged in my pocket for my schedule. I scanned it as I ate my breakfast.

**1****st**** hour – Fencing. Gymnasium. Prof. D. Lankford**

**2****nd**** hour – Drama 101. Performing Arts Centre. Prof. Nolan**

_**or**_

**Sketching 101. Rm. 312. Prof. Doner**

_**or**_

**Intro to Music. Rm. 314. Prof. Vento**

**3****rd**** hour – Lit 101. Rm. 214. Prof. Penthesilia**

**4****th**** hour – Vampyre Sociology 101. Rm. 215. Prof. Neferet**

**LUNCH BREAK**

**5****th**** hour – Spanish 101. Rm. 216. Prof. Garmy**

**6****th**** hour – Intro to Equestrian Studies. Field House. Prof. Lenobia**

"Well, dang," I whispered, tracing the letters. The classes sure were different to the ones I'd been taking back in Henrietta.

"Second hour is electives." I looked up to find the blonde girl from before standing beside me, holding a bagel and a bottle of apple juice. "You can choose whichever class you want and just turn up. The vamps'll be expecting you." She smiled and then went to go join a tall girl with dark skin and even darker hair. I watched her go, a thank you forming on my lips.

At least I wouldn't have to ask anyone about classes.

Somehow I managed to make it through my first day at the House of Night without casualty. I liked the classes, except for Professor Lenobia's equestrian class – I wasn't great with the horses. Lenobia had promised to talk to the High Priestess about having me transferred to another class though, so I could deal with it.

The only bad thing about my day was that I hadn't made any friends. I'd sat by myself in all of my classes. I hadn't been hugely popular back in Henrietta, but I'd had friends. Shane and Lindy, Lindy's on-again off-again boyfriend Alex. Even after Lindy's reaction to my Mark, I would have done anything to have her beside me in those classes. I didn't like being the new girl. I definitely didn't like being alone.

So I was feeling a little depressed as I made my way to the dining hall for dinner. Even the amazing decor couldn't really jolt me out of my funk. I'd spent the entire day alone and now I was going to spend dinner alone, too. I wondered morosely if this was what I'd go through for the next four years. I chose a table near a window and sat, preparing myself for yet another hour of silence. As soon as I tucked into my dinner, however, Professor Penthesilia appeared by my table.

"Hello, Stevie Rae," she said with a smile. "How was your first day?"

"Fine," I said, swallowing a bite of salad. "Thanks, ma'am. Uh – I don't mean to be rude, Professor P, but don't the teachers have a separate dining hall?"

"We do," she agreed, setting a plate of salad on the table, "but sometimes mentors choose to dine with their fledglings. You don't mind, do you?"

Mind? Dang, I was relieved to have someone to talk to. Professor P asked me all about how my first day had been, which classes were my favourite, if I had made any friends. When I told her about Lenobia's equestrian class she gave a mysterious smile and said that had been taken care of. I wasn't too sure what she meant by that, but I was beginning to learn that the vamps were kind of... psychic. Maybe I'd already been transferred.

As for the friends question, I avoided it. I said that the other fledglings were nice but I was still trying to find my feet. Professor P didn't call me out on it, but I was pretty sure she knew I was lying. We were just finishing our meal when the doors burst open and two girls and a boy rushed into the hall. One of them was the blonde girl who had told me about the electives. The other girl was her dark skinned friend, and I recognized the boy from Professor P's Lit class. They were talking and laughing together. I felt a pang of regret as I watched them slide into a booth together. I wished that my friends were with me. As nice as Professor P was, hanging out with my vampyre mentor just wasn't the same as having a friend to hang out with.

After dinner I went back to my room to find three text messages on my phone.

_**How's the vamp school? We miss u at home – JJ**_

_**Sorry 4 freaking out. Gd luck in Tulsa x Lindy**_

_**Hope ur wearing my bracelet. That way vamp guys won't flirt with u.**_

I flopped back on my bed with a sigh. A message each from JJ, Lindy and Shane. I hammered out a quick reply to JJ and after a moment's hesitation I called Lindy. If she was big enough to apologize, then I wanted to talk to her. She picked up after the first few rings. It was 7AM. She was probably getting ready for school.

"Hello?" she said chirpily. My stomach clenched. Her voice reminded me of home.

"Hi, Lindy," I managed. "I got your message."

There was a silence. When she spoke again, her voice was decidedly less cheerful. "Oh. Hi, Stevie Rae. What's up?"

"I wanted to thank you," I said, "for your apology. And to tell you that I still want to be friends. I know that I'm gonna have to stay in Tulsa and stuff, but dang it, Lindy, we've been best friends since we were in our strollers. A little thing like me getting Marked shouldn't stand in the way of that, right?"

"I guess not..." she replied. "It's just weird. I mean, you know how my parents feel about vampyres."

Did I ever. Lindy's parents were strict Catholic folks who thought that vampyres were abominations. They had raised her and her sisters to hate vampyres and fledglings. It was a huge deal for Lindy to go against their values to stay friends with me. Suddenly I wished more than ever that she was with me.

We didn't talk for long. Lindy had to get to school and I was itching to call Shane, but the short time that we talked was good for both of us. I was happy that Lindy had decided to give me a chance.

There was another message waiting for me when Lindy hung up.

_**U ignoring me, pretty girl?**_

I smiled and hit the dial button, my smile growing wider when I heard Shane's voice.

"Hey, Stevie Rae!" he said. His voice was clogged up – he definitely still had the flu – but it still sounded as sweet as ever. "So how was your first day at vamp school? Or should I say first night? What are the classes like? And the vampyres? Are they all over the place?"

"Whoa, slow down," I laughed. "I suppose technically you'd say first night, but that confuses the heck outta me, so I'm sticking to day. The classes are amazing. I'm learning how to fence and I'm taking a music elective cos you know I wanna be like Kenny Chesney. For the first time ever I enjoyed a Lit class – the teacher is super nice and she's my mentor too. And yeah, there are vampyres everywhere. The only adult vamps are the teachers though. All of the students are fledglings like me."

"Wow," Shane breathed. "It sounds amazing. Are we able to visit?"

"Um, there's a parental visitation day every month," I said, remembering Professor P's explanations. "I'm sure if you ask JJ nicely he'll convince my parents to bring you along."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, sounding eager.

"Yeah," I said, "but the last one was just last week, so you'll have to wait for the next one."

"I can do that," he said. "As long as you can."

We talked for hours. When we finally hung up, I was feeling a lot better. Shane had promised to ask JJ about parental visitation day. I was sure that Mama wouldn't mind, but Daddy might be a little harder to convince. After all, I was his baby girl. He'd like the idea of me having a boyfriend even less than the idea of me getting Marked.

I was just getting ready to go to bed when I noticed the piece of paper taped to the door. Frowning, I went to go check it out. It was a new schedule – almost exactly the same as the one I'd originally been given, with one small change.

**6th hour – Tae Kwon Do. Gymnasium. Prof. Vesta**

I grinned. Tae Kwon Do? They expected me to do martial arts? Well, the vamps were in for a big surprise if they thought I was gonna be able to kick butt.

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><p><em>Well, that's the end of the settling in period. The next chapter'll probably deal with Stevie Rae trying to make friends and ending up as Aphrodite's refrigerator. So yay, Aphrodite's first appearance! And Shaunee, Erin and Damien will make proper appearances instead of cameos. Please review, it makes me want to write faster!<em>


	5. Finding My Feet

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

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><p>One month later, I was finally finding my feet at the House of Night.<p>

I had settled into all of my classes. Tae Kwon Do had turned out to be my favourite class, and I was actually pretty dang good at it. My classmates always seemed a little shocked to see me in action. I liked that – I wasn't just some country girl when I was in Tae Kwon Do class. I was Stevie Rae, vampyre fledgling extraordinaire.

Professor P had been good to me. She ate with me whenever she could, because even though it had been a month, I still didn't have many friends. I'd gotten to know some of the people in my classes and we talked, but I wasn't close enough with any of them to eat with them at mealtimes. There were certain people who would smile at me in the dining hall, but that was as far as I'd gotten to an eating companion. I took it as a good sign – even baby steps were progress. Still, no-one made an effort to reach out to me, and nobody sat with me at dinner.

So I was pretty surprised when one Friday evening at dinner, a ridiculously beautiful girl with flowing blonde hair approached my table. She was flanked by a couple of other girls, who were pretty, but nowhere near as pretty as her. She smiled at me.

"Hi," she said, her voice dripping with caramel. "I'm Aphrodite, leader of the Dark Daughters. I'm sure you already know that, though."

Actually, I didn't. I knew what the Dark Daughters were – a kind of sorority slash pep squad slash cult. Well, the last part was a lie. But the Dark Daughters were very exclusive and in my eyes, very, very scary. Professor P had told me about them back when I'd first arrived at the House of Night. She said that they were an exclusive student organization in charge of school spirit and stuff like that, but to me, they sounded like stuck up cheerleaders. I didn't know what their leader would want with me. Aphrodite seemed like the real head cheerleader type – I was willing to bet my entire Kenny Chesney collection that if the House of Night was an ordinary American high school, she'd be doing back-flips off a pyramid and dating the quarterback.

Still, it was the first time that anyone other than Professor P had approached me at dinner, so I wasn't going to send her packing.

"Sure," I lied, smiling. "I'm Ste–"

"That doesn't matter," Aphrodite cut in, glancing at her friends and then back at me. "We just wanted to invite you to a little ritual that we're having tonight. We hold our rituals in the rec hall – do you want to come?"

I was a little confused about her interruption and I wondered briefly why she wouldn't let me introduce myself, but then it hit me that she was actually inviting me to a Dark Daughters ritual. I may have been the new girl, but I knew a thing or two, and one of them was that being invited to a Dark Daughters ritual was a big deal. So I gave Aphrodite and her friends the biggest smile I could manage.

"I'd love to!" I said eagerly. Aphrodite gave a tinkling laugh.

"Great," she said. "The ritual starts at 7AM. Don't be late."

I watched her leave, a warm feeling swelling in my stomach. The Dark Daughters were the "in" crowd – and they wanted _me_! I finished my dinner and raced up to my dorm room. I had about a half hour to get ready, and I got the feeling that my usual Roper jeans and cowboy boots wouldn't be enough for this ritual. I rifled through my closet, eventually producing a pleated black skirt, a charcoal grey blouse with my third former insignia stitched onto the breast, and a pair of black flats that Lindy had gotten me last Christmas. I checked my reflection in the mirror, applied a little make-up and then left, my heart thudding.

The rec hall was all the way across campus, so I had to run to get there on time. When I finally arrived I was flushed and a little breathless. I patted down my hair before I went in – I didn't wanna look messy in front of all those popular girls – and then pushed open the doors. What I saw inside was amazing.

The entire hall was filled with gorgeous girls and a few hot guys, though there was definitely more of a female presence. They were all wearing thick silver chains, with the symbol of a full moon flanked by two crescent moons dangling from the ends. I wondered if I'd get one of those, or maybe if you only got them once you were an official Dark Daughter. I spotted Aphrodite in the centre of the room, wearing a pendant like the others – only hers was outlined with red stones. I made my way towards her, smiling as she caught sight of me.

"Oh, you're finally here," she said, pursing her lips and looking me up and down. I felt a little bit like a bug under a microscope, under her wide blue gaze. "Little overdressed, aren't you?"

I glanced around at the other fledglings in the hall. The boys were all wearing dark jeans and dark shirts, while the girls wore dresses and skirts like me. I frowned.

"Um... I'm not sure..." I said, not wanting to argue with Aphrodite, but confused about why she thought I was underdressed when there was a girl wearing something that looked like a ball gown in the corner.

"Right," she replied dismissively, "whatever. Just come over here."

She led me over to a round table and pushed me forcefully into a seat. A couple of girls made a beeline for us, grinning widely. The taller of the two had blonde hair that was _so_ obviously dyed. She whispered something in Aphrodite's ear that made her laugh. The smaller girl was mixed-race, with coffee coloured skin and gorgeous curly hair. I stared at her curls in envy. My hair was curly too, but the kind of curly that frizzed out like a perm gone wrong whenever I let it grow past my shoulders. It was a big disadvantage at the House of Night, where even the guys had gorgeous long locks.

Neither girl introduced herself to me. They acted like I wasn't even there.

"So this is the new refrigerator?" the curly haired girl said, eyeing me like I was a piece of meat. "When are you gonna bleed her, Aphrodite?"

"Patience, Deino," Aphrodite said, glaring at the other girl. "I do have other things to do before the ritual, you know." I blinked. _Refrigerator? Bleed her?_

"Um, excuse me?" I said hesitantly, flinching back when all three girls turned to glare at me. "Is... is there anything I can do to help with the ritual? I could find some more candles, maybe."

Aphrodite gave a short laugh. "You, help with the ritual?" she said scornfully. "The only reason you're here is because we needed a new refrigerator, bumpkin. Don't act like you're more important than you are."

"Refrigerator?" I repeated questioningly.

"You know," the blonde girl said, sharing a disparaging look with Deino. "You're not here to _attend_ the ritual. We just want to bleed you, so that we can lace the wine with blood."

My jaw fell slack and I looked at Aphrodite for confirmation. Her face was filled with amusement. "You didn't seriously think we wanted to invite you to our ritual?" she said in disbelief. When she saw the look on my face, she burst out laughing. "Are you kidding? You're a third former from some Podunk town with no affinity to speak of, and you thought that the Dark Daughters wanted you to be a part of our ritual? Talk about delusional. Now give me your arm so that I can bleed you."

She reached for my arm, grasping it with an iron grip. I struggled, pulling it out of her grasp and then stood up.

"No!" I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I won't let you!"

The three of them laughed together, cackling like hyenas, and Aphrodite made for my arm again. "Come on, bumpkin," she laughed, her eyes glinting. "It's not like you're good for anything else, is it?"

"I said no!" I shouted. She laughed even harder but sobered up a moment later, fixing me with an angry stare.

"Fine," she said coldly. "Get the hell out of my hall."

I raced out of the rec hall, tears spilling over my eyelids and down my cheeks. I couldn't believe that I'd been so wrong about them – I'd hoped that they would be my friends, something I desperately needed after a month of being alone. Instead, they had laughed at me, called me good for nothing and made me cry. If that was the kind of group that the House of Night deemed popular, then I wasn't so sure I wanted to be a part of the House of Night.

I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, not really caring where I was going. I was sick of this school, sick of my Mark, sick of being so dang _alone_–

"Hey! You! Slow down!"

I halted, turning around to find three figures sprinting towards me. My eyes practically boggled out of my head – it was the blonde girl who had helped me on my first day, and her two friends. They stopped just in front of me, a little breathless.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked, smiling kindly at me. His name was Damien, I remembered. He was in my Lit class, but we had never talked. He was offering me a tissue to wipe my tears. I took it cautiously and his smile grew wider. "I'm Damien, and this is Shaunee and Erin. We saw you run out of the rec hall and guessed that you were coming from a Dark Daughters ritual."

"Don't worry about them," the blonde girl – Erin – said, narrowing her eyes. "They're just–"

"Hags from hell," Shaunee said, finishing off the sentence with a grin.

"Y'all can say that again," I replied, hiccupping a little. The two girls and Damien looked at each other, seeming relieved that I wasn't running away from them. "I'm Stevie Rae."

"I know," Damien said. "From my Lit class. You arrived here last month, didn't you?"

I nodded, and it was as simple as that – I'd found my friends. They walked me back to the dorm, where Damien said goodbye, but not before giving me a hug and making me promise not to worry about what had happened with the Dark Daughters. I was ready to go straight to my room when we reached the dorm, but Shaunee and Erin insisted that I watch a movie with them. We bagged one of the giant couches in the living room and took over one of the TVs. I settled in with the two girls right away, surprising myself. I learned that they weren't just best friends, they were practically twins. They were so crazy alike that they finished each other's sentences, and instead of calling each other by their names, they just said Twin. It was cute.

When I finally _did_ make it to my room that night, I was filled with a sort of warm glow. Sure, the night had started out horribly. I didn't think I'd ever get over the shame and embarrassment of what Aphrodite and her friends had done to me, but it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it had brought me to Damien, Shaunee and Erin. And while they may not have been my friends from Henrietta, they were friends.

And that was all I needed.

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><p><em>I hope I didn't make anybody too OOC in this... I was a bit worried about Aphrodite's parts. Anyway, hope you liked it, please R&amp;R! And a big thanks to everybody who's reviewed so far ^_^ Next chapter is probably gonna be parental visitation, with Annabeth, Reggie, JJ and Shane!<em>


	6. Perfect

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

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><p>If I was being honest, I wasn't really worried about parental visitation.<p>

I'd settled in pretty well at the House of Night – after the disastrous incident with Aphrodite and her friends, Damien, Shaunee and Erin had become like my family. Sure, we bickered like crazy and the Twins despaired over my fashion sense, but we were everything to each other. So I wasn't afraid that my parents would think I wasn't making friends. A part of me was actually pretty excited about showing my new friends off to my family. I was sure JJ would love the Twins, and Mama would just _fawn_ over Damien.

I did worry a bit about my Daddy. He'd been crushed when I first got Marked so I wasn't sure how he'd feel about being with his fledgling daughter in her vampyre school. Still, I was excited to see them. I was even more excited when I heard that Shane was coming.

The text came at dinnertime, the day before visitation. I was in the dining hall with Damien, Shaunee and Erin, tucking into a meal of lasagne and garlic bread when my phone beeped. Before I could open the text, Erin gave an evil grin and grabbed the phone, holding it high out of my reach. She opened the message and scanned it, crowing with delight.

"Who's Shane?" she asked coyly, leaning forward and batting her eyelashes. I blushed. Shaunee's mouth formed a perfect, round 'o'.

"A boy?" she shrieked, grabbing for the phone. "Stevie Rae, you've been holding out on us!"

Even Damien's eyes were shining at the prospect of fresh gossip. I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair. I'd always known that this day would come – Shane and I were still really close, despite the fact that I'd moved to the House of Night – but somehow I'd managed to keep his existence hidden from my friends. Up until now, at least. Still, I wasn't prepared to give up my little secret without a fight. I snatched the phone out of Shaunee's hands and stared at the display.

_**Good news, pretty girl. I'll b seeing u 2moro at 12:00AM sharp! :o) – Shane**_

As embarrassed as I was, I couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my face.

Shaunee and Erin squealed in delight. "A boy!"

I sighed. "Alright," I admitted. "Yeah, Shane's a boy. He's... um, I guess he's kinda like my boyfriend. He gave me a bracelet the day I got Marked and told me I had the key to his heart, so I guess he's like my boyfriend. Right?"

Shaunee and Erin looked dubious. "That is–" Erin began.

"So ridiculously cheesy–" Shaunee continued.

"That it should be–" Erin went on.

"Illegal," they finished together.

I blinked. Listening to the Twins talk could be exhausting at times, and listening to them scoff at Shane's idea of romance planted a tiny seed of doubt in my stomach. What if my friends hated him? What if he hated my friends? After all, the Twins had a lot more experience with romance than I did. Maybe it was a bad idea to let Shane come.

Damien glared at the Twins. "Hush up, y'all," he said. "I think it's sweet. Stevie Rae, is your boyfriend coming to parent visitation tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile. Damien returned it.

"That's fantastic. I hope you'll introduce us." The Twins nodded in agreement, looking a little ashamed about their teasing.

That was all it took to calm me down. Of course Shane would like my friends, and they'd like him right back. I managed to keep a cool head until 11:00PM the next evening, when the doors of the House of Night opened to the outside world.

It was my first parental visitation night, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. Damien and the Twins had described it as best they could. For some people, parental visitation was a great night where fledglings got to reunite with families that they'd had to leave behind. For others, it was a tense reunion followed by a hasty goodbye. Curious as ever, I'd asked my friends what it was like for them. Damien had been the first to answer. He said that parental visitation brought up mixed feelings for both him and his parents. They all loved each other, but Damien's parents just didn't know how to deal with their son's sexuality. Usually, they brought masculine gifts and stuff that they thought would convert him. It wasn't that they hated him, Damien explained. They just didn't understand.

For Erin, parental visitation was just another excuse for her parents to go travelling. Her family had a lot of money and they liked to take vacations. A lot of the time they didn't even make it to visitation, but this time, they were coming. They were bringing Erin's little sister, too. Erin was pretty indifferent about all of it. She loved her family, but she'd known from the moment she was Marked that they were going to grow apart. It didn't bother her because she'd found another family when she came to the House of Night, first with her spiritual Twin, Shaunee, then with Damien, and later with me.

Shaunee's family were like Erin's – a lot of the time they couldn't make it. They were both high powered career people and so they didn't have a lot of time to take vacations. They tried to see Shaunee whenever they could, but it was difficult. Shaunee's attitude was exactly the same as Erin's.

They didn't ask how it would be for me. They all seemed to know that it would be hard. I'd told them how close I was with JJ and my mama, and all about how much my daddy loved me. By the time the doors opened for visitation night, I was itching to see my family. They wouldn't be arriving for another hour or so – Shane had said they'd be there at midnight – so I stuck to Damien's side. His parents weren't coming this month because of some dying aunt. Damien didn't say so, but I got the feeling that he was relieved.

"There's Erin's family," Damien said, pointing across the room at a family of three. Erin's father was tall and very thin, very handsome. He had light brown hair, crinkled eyes and a kind smile. Erin's mother was exactly like her daughter – they had the same light blonde hair and slim figure, and although I couldn't see from this distance, I was willing to bet they had the same blue eyes, too. The little girl standing beside them had the same slim figure as her mom and her sister, but she shared her father's brown hair. As we watched, Erin glided up to them and wrapped her little sister in a hug. A lump rose in my throat.

"It must be hard for Erin," I said, glancing at Damien.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, her sister's so young," I replied, looking back at Erin's family. "Doesn't Erin worry about her?"

"I think so," Damien said thoughtfully. "She doesn't talk about her family much. I'm an only child, and so is Shaunee, so we've never thought to ask. You have siblings, don't you, Stevie Rae?"

"Three brothers," I told him, "all older than me. They're all super protective so when I got Marked, they were pretty dang upset. I know that they worry about me being away from home, but at least I'm old enough to remember them. Isn't Erin worried that her sister will forget about her?"

"No, she's not."

I turned to find Shaunee standing behind us, watching Erin and her family with a fond expression.

"Erin and Lily talk all the time," Shaunee explained. "So she really has nothing to worry about. Now, if you guys will excuse me, I see my folks."

She zipped across the room and embraced a short, curvy woman who shared Shaunee's mocha skin tone. I grinned and then glanced at my watch. 11:45PM. Nearly time. Damien saw me checking the time and smiled, squeezing my hand comfortingly.

"I better approve of this boyfriend of yours," he teased, winking. "In the absence of your older brothers, I feel it's my duty to be super protective of you."

"He's great," I said. "He's smart and he's cute and he's funny and – he's here!"

Shane walked through the door, closely followed by JJ, Mama and Daddy. All four of them were looking around the room nervously, though I didn't miss JJ eyeing up a couple of the fledgling girls. I squeezed Damien's hand.

"That's them," I whispered, hardly able to believe it. "That's my mama!"

I rushed forward, dragging Damien with me. JJ was the first to spot me. He nudged Shane sharply in the ribs and then touched Mama's elbow. They all turned towards me, grins spreading across their faces. I let go of Damien's hand and threw my arms around Mama's neck, inhaling her familiar scent of vanilla and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"Mama!" I cried. "I missed you!"

"Well, Stevie Rae, I missed you too," she chuckled, squeezing me tight. "I brought you some of those chocolate chip cookies that you love so much."

Damien hung back shyly as I greeted the rest of my family. Daddy gave me a gruff hello, as per usual, and JJ clapped me hard on the back. Shane looked like he was going to kiss me, but then he spotted Damien behind me and hesitated. I decided that was my cue to introduce him.

"Mama, Daddy, everybody," I said with a smile, "this is my new friend, Damien Maslin. Damien, this is my Mama, my Daddy, my brother JJ and my... and Shane."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Damien said cordially, shaking Daddy's hand. When he stepped back, he nudged me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You were right. He's cute!"

Daddy was looking at Damien a little suspiciously. "And how do you know my daughter, Damien?" he asked gruffly. "Are you two – er, involved?" Shane blanched, but Damien just laughed.

"No, sir," he replied. "Stevie Rae is a lovely girl, but I'm actually gay." A smile spread across Shane's face. Mama and Daddy looked a little surprised, but sweet, sweet Mama skated over it without any trouble.

"We're staying in a hotel nearby, baby girl," she beamed, putting her hands on my shoulders and squeezing hard. "Me and your daddy and JJ and Shane! We want to take you out for dinner tomorrow seeing as we never got to celebrate your birthday. Would that be alright with your teachers, sweetheart?"

I glanced at Damien, who nodded. "Yeah, Mama. That'd be great!"

It was more than great, actually. It was perfect. The entire moment was perfect. I was with my family, my friend, my kind-of-boyfriend _and_ I was getting to have my birthday celebration after all. For the first time since I had arrived at the House of Night, I finally felt like I could do this vampyre thing.

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><p><em>OHMYGOD YOU GUYS I AM SO SO SORRY I ABSOLUTELY SUCK! I really hope people are still reading this even though I completely abandoned it for an entire month... All I can say is that I was in Portugal, with pretty much no internet access and no time to write. I'm so sorry and I hope that someone's still reading this, because trust me, I'm not ending it. Please review, if you're still there! I'm sorry!<em>


	7. Doubts

_Disclaimer: House of Night, all characters except for my OCs, settings etc. are the property of P.C. and Kristin Cast._

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><p>"You can't wear <em>that<em>."

Shaunee and Erin stared at me, their mouths open and their eyes wide. I looked uncertainly at my outfit and then back at them. I'd spend the last hour choosing what to wear to my "birthday" dinner and I thought that I looked pretty good – I was wearing a denim skirt, black cowboy boots and a blue flannel shirt that I'd found at the back of my closet. Judging from the looks on the Twins' faces, I'd made a mistake.

"Are you seriously wearing your hair–" Erin began.

"In braids?" Shaunee finished, shaking her head at me. I frowned. It had taken an _age_ to tame my frizzy curls into the twin braids I was sporting.

"What's wrong with that?" I asked self-consciously, fingering the end of one of them.

"Honey," Erin said, smiling at me sympathetically. "You look like a little kid. Don't you want your boytoy to think you look–"

"Sexy," Shaunee butted in, her dark eyes twinkling dangerously. "What do you think, Twin? Can we fix this?"

"Oh, I think so, Twin," Erin replied, grinning. And with that, they grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs to their room.

Shaunee got to work on my hair, tugging at it with a comb and then attacking it with her flat iron. Meanwhile, Erin was busy rooting through the closet that they shared, muttering things under her breath every now and then, tossing some garments on the bed and others back into the closet. I sat as still as possible, afraid to breathe in case Shaunee burnt me with the flat iron – that thing was _hot_.

When Shaunee finally released me, my cheeks were red with heat. I blinked at myself in the mirror.

"Dang," I breathed, raising a hand to touch my newly straightened hair. Normally my hair was a mass of crazy blonde curls – now, it was a short, shimmering waterfall of _gold_. "This is _awesome_."

Shaunee looked pleased with herself. Erin paused her closet ransacking long enough to appraise my new 'do, nodded with approval and then stood up. She held in her hands a stack of clothes, which she thrust into my arms.

"Go put these on," she ordered, shoving me in the direction of the bathroom. "When you get back–"

"We'll do your makeup!" Shaunee finished with a squeal of excitement. I shook my head at them – I'd already applied the standard foundation to my forehead to hide my Mark. What other makeup did I need? The Twins obviously thought differently, because I saw them pulling out a giant tub of makeup as I slipped into the bathroom. I arranged the clothes the counter carefully. Erin had clearly spent a long time picking this stuff out, but I wasn't sure if it was _me_. Still, the Twins were experts on fashion, so I supposed I could trust them.

Once I was dressed, I returned to the bedroom. The Twins gave a low whistle before beaming at me and shoving me in front of the vanity table. Brandishing an eyeshadow brush each, they got to work on my makeup. Once again I sat as still as possible, this time afraid of getting my eye poked out. Eventually they stepped back and Shaunee put her hands on my shoulders. She steered me over to the full-length mirror on the wall and ordered me to open my eyes. I did so, hesitantly. What I saw was _not_ what I'd been expecting.

The girl in the mirror was pretty. _Really _pretty. She had silky golden hair and big blue eyes outlined with smoky eyeshadow. Her lips were shiny and pink, her skin glowing. Her jean-clad legs looked like they went on forever, and the fitted white tee that clung to her frame was simple but still drew attention. I sucked in a breath.

"Dang," I whispered. "Y'all are freakin' _talented_."

The Twins laughed out loud before presenting me with my cowboy boots. "I _could_ give you an adorable pair of Ralph Lauren boots to go with that outfit," Shaunee said mournfully.

"But we want your boyfriend to recognize you," Erin continued, elbowing her Twin in the side. "So go and put these on and have fun with your family. It's nine fifteen and Damien just texted to let us know that their car pulled up."

I slipped on my boots and then straightened up, warmth pooling in my stomach at the sight of the smiles on Erin and Shaunee's faces. A month ago, I'd been all alone at the House of Night, and now I had friends who were willing to give me a makeover and designer boots. I couldn't believe how lucky I was.

"Thank you, guys," I said thickly, holding back tears so that I wouldn't smudge my makeup. "I owe you."

I gave them both a quick hug and then hurried out of the room, a small smile tugging at my lips as I heard their wolf whistles echo after me. I'd just reached the living room when my phone buzzed. There were a few kids I recognized hanging around, watching movies. Aphrodite and her friends were sprawled across one of the couches, but I ignored them. I waved to Drew Partain and pretended not to notice his eyes widen when he saw me.

_**We're here! Meet us out front! :o) – Shane**_

I grinned and pocketed the phone, my heart thudding as I headed for the front entrance to the school. I'd already talked to Neferet and Professor P earlier and they'd cleared it for me to leave – it was a Saturday, anyway, so it wasn't like I was missing any classes. It was a little weird to think about having dinner at 9PM, since I'd gotten so used to my schedule being flipped, but I didn't care. I was just happy to be having dinner with my family.

I spotted them as I neared the front gate and sped up a little. They all looked great. Mama was wearing a pretty red and white check dress, while Daddy, JJ and Shane had gone all out and opted for jackets and ties. I guessed that they'd be taking me somewhere fancy.

"Hi!" I called, waving. They spotted me and waved back, though they looked a little taken aback. I guessed it was because of my outfit, or maybe my hair. I'd never had straight hair before. They were all used to my crazy curls.

"Stevie Rae!" Mama said warmly, enveloping me in a hug. "You look beautiful, baby girl!"

"Thanks," I replied breathlessly. "My friends helped me to get ready. You can meet them when we get back from dinner."

"That sounds wonderful," Daddy said gruffly, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you can introduce me to some hot vamp chicks," JJ said with a grin. I stuck my tongue out at him and then turned to Shane with a smile.

"Hi, Shane."

"Hey, Stevie Rae," he said, smiling. It didn't quite reach his eyes. I frowned but shook it off.

"So where are we going?" I asked brightly, looking at my parents.

"We've heard some lovely things about a restaurant called _Floorplan_," Mama replied. "We made a reservation last night, so we'd better get going if we want to make it on time. We're going to walk, if that's OK with you, sweetheart."

I said that it was and we set off. Mama and Daddy walked together, while JJ walked ahead, talking on his phone. That left me to slip into step with Shane, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. On impulse, I laced my fingers with his. I was wearing his charm bracelet on my wrist. It tinkled as I linked our hands together.

"Are you alright?" I asked carefully. Maybe he was homesick.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. "Just – you don't look like yourself, Stevie Rae."

My heart plummeted. I'd thought I looked good – maybe I'd been wrong? But Erin and Shaunee had dressed me, and if anyone knew fashion, it was the Twins. I bit my lip.

"Do – do you not like it?" I said.

Shane looked up in alarm. "That's not what I meant," he said quickly. "I'm just a little shocked, that's all. I mean, if there's some vamp guy at your school that you're trying to impress, you shouldn't change yourself for him. You should just be yourself."

I frowned. "Why would I be trying to impress a vamp guy when I have you?"

"Because you don't have me," he sighed, kicking at a pebble. "Not really, anyway. We never see each other. I'm not even sure if I can call you my girlfriend. Besides, why would you want a boyfriend like me when you could be going out with some vampyre stud? Like that Damien guy."

I couldn't help it – I laughed. "_Shane_," I said, swinging our hands, "Damien's _gay._"

"I know that," he snapped, making the smile slip off my face, "but that's not my point. There are tons of guys at your school that you could be with. Properly. Why would you choose a long distance relationship with a country bumpkin kid when you could have a real, tangible relationship with a vampyre fledgling in Tulsa? Someone who understands you."

My blood ran cold. "Why are you bringing this up now?" I asked quietly, suddenly very aware that my parents and my older brother were just a few feet away. "I thought we were going to have a nice evening."

"I just – when I saw you coming out of your school, you looked different," he said bitterly. "Like you didn't belong in Henrietta anymore."

"Well, I don't," I said, surprisingly firmly considering that it was something I'd been unsure of only recently. "But just because I don't belong in Henrietta anymore doesn't mean that I'm going to forget the people who do."

There was a long pause and then Shane sighed, drawing himself up and looking me in the eye.

"You're right," he said, though the smile he offered me afterwards was definitely forced. "Let's just forget I said anything, OK? Let's have a nice night with your parents."

He squeezed my hand, but it didn't do anything to still my nerves. I had a feeling that this wasn't just something we could forget about.

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><p><em>This was shorter than I had originally planned, but this just felt like a good place to leave it. So things are heating up for Stevie Rae and Shane - clearly he has some issues with her being at the HoN, even if he hasn't exactly voiced them yet. So what's ahead for these two? :D Once again, apologies for taking so long with this chapter, it's just been a hectic few weeks and I haven't been doing much writing (plus I started writing Glee fanfiction and WOW, it's really hard to stop once you've started). Hope you enjoyed this, please review!<em>


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